Investing – with Gener8tor and Panache Ventures

INVESTING – HORIZON series, presented by Lenovo

When it comes to investing in burgeoning startups, Troy Vossellor (Co-Founder, Gener8tor) and David Dufresne (Founder & Partner, Panache Ventures) sure know how to navigate the unchartered waters of capital venture to ensure long-term success for early-stage companies.

As a turnkey platform for the creative economy that connects startup founders, musicians, artists, investors, universities and corporations, the gener8tor platform includes pre-accelerators, accelerators, corporate programming, conferences and fellowships.

As for Panache Ventures, it is Canada’s most active seed-stage venture capital fund and the only national pre-seed platform. The firm is led by a team of experienced operators, with a strong angel investor track record, years of institutional VC experience and a strong network in Canada, in Silicon Valley and worldwide.

In this panel, Troy and David will share their respective experience with investing in start-ups, their selection process, the key challenges and takeaways, and the importance of creating a tight-knit community of daring entrepreneurs. Because investing in start-ups is no small feat and demands patience, determination, and above all, a commitment to community & diversity.

Troy Vossellor, Co-Founder, gener8tor  gener8tor’s turnkey platform for the creative economy connects startup founders, musicians, artists, investors, universities and corporations. The gener8tor platform includes pre-accelerators, accelerators, corporate programming, conferences and fellowships. gener8tor operates more than 40 accelerators annually across North America, working with more than 200 entrepreneurs per year.

David Dufresne, Founder & Partner, Panache Ventures  David started his career in the Canadian VC industry in the early 2000s at Desjardins Venture Capital and the BlackBerry Partners Fund. David left to pursue entrepreneurial roles and acted as CEO of music tech company Bandzoogle for 5 years. He recently worked with music platform Bandcamp as their Head of Strategy and Growth before returning to VC. He joined the 500 Startups Canada team and he is now a founding partner of Panache Ventures, Canada’s most active seed-stage fund. David is a sought-after speaker and panellist at many venture capital, tech and entertainment industry events. He acts as a mentor and advisor to many startup accelerators and incubators across Quebec, Canada and the United States (SXSW, Techstars, FounderFuel, NextAI, etc.).

Moderator: Carmen Douville, Carmen Douville, Director, Ecosystem Development, MaRS Discovery District

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